The Ghost Returns
by Ferrion Knight of Oblivion
Summary: Nearly a year after being turned into a cat, Danny finds himself lost in the forest with all his powers paralyzed. He learns of a new danger to the cats of the forest, and must help Brownclaw once again to save FireClan. Sequel to A Cat named Phantom.
1. Prologue and Allegiances

Icepaw had grown quite a bit since she was a kit. She, Flamepaw, Ravenpaw and Lilypaw had been apprentices for a few moons. They'd given up the simple lifes of being kits and they were training to become strong warriors.

It was almost moon high when Icepaw woke to the sound of pawsteps. She sat up and looked around the apprentice den. The oldest apprentices, Yellowpaw and Willowpaw were fast asleep, but Flamepaw, Ravenpaw and Lilypaw were gone.

Icepaw walked out into the clearing to see her brother and two friends slip into the elder's den. She slipped inside and was surprised to see Gingerear. Gingerear was the only elder and the oldest of FireClan.

"Ahh, Icepaw," Gingerear mewed. "Good of you to join us."

"What's going on?" Icepaw asked.

"Remeber that story Gingerear told us when we were kits?" Lilypaw, the young white she-cat asked.

"Yes, what about it?"

"Gingerear is going to tell us another story!" the black tabby tom replied.

Lilypaw and Ravenpaw were siblings, as were Icepaw and Flamepaw. Lilypaw was pure white with yellow eyes. Ravenpaw was black with dark blue eyes. Flamepaw was a dark ginger tom with amber eyes and Icepaw was a blue-silver she-cat with ice blue eyes.

"There's another story about Brownclaw and Danny?" Icepaw asked.

"Indeed there is," Gingerear replied.

"Sit down, Icepaw," Flamepaw urged. "You might not get another chance to hear it."

Icepaw sat beside Lilypaw and listened as Gingerear began the second story.

* * *

**FireClan**

Leader: Smallstar- Small ginger she-cat with white paws and blue eyes

Deputy: Bluepelt- Blue-gray tabby tom with black paws and amber eyes

Medicine Cat: Goldpelt- Yellow-brown tabby tom with amber eyes

**Warriors**

Swiftfoot- White tom with brown paws and blue-green eyes

Dapplefur- Calico she-cat with yellow eyes

Rustheart- Dusty brown tom with blue eyes

Apprentice: Maplepaw

Willowtail- Pale brown she-cat with green eyes

Mosstail- Brown-and-gray she-cat with yellow eyes

Brownclaw- Brown she-cat with white paws and green eyes

Apprentice: Sagepaw

Jadeheart- Dark gray she-cat with blue eyes

Windstrike- Gray-and-white tabby tom with blue-green eyes

Kalepelt- Gray tabby tome with blue eyes

Poppyleaf- Black-and-white she'cat with blue eyes

**Apprentices**

Maplepaw- Dusty brown tabby tom with green eyes

Sagepaw- Pale brown she-cat with gray spots and blue eyes

**Queens**

Willowtail- Pale brown she-cat with green eyes

Kits: Walnutkit, Owlkit, Nettlekit

**Elders**

Longheart- Black-and-white she-cat with blue-green eyes

Orangetail- Calico tabby tom with green eyes

Nightheart- Black tabby tom with white paws

Raintail- Black she-cat with blue-gray spots and amber eyes

**EarthClan**

Leader: Ruststar- Dark dusty brown and red tabby tom with amber eyes

Deputy: Stonetalon- Gray tabby she-cat with white paws and blue eyes

Medicine Cat: Duskpelt- Black she-cat with red-brown paws and green eyes

Apprentice: Mistpaw

**Warriors**

Swampear- Brown-and-gray she-cat with amber eyes

Strongtail- Black-and-white tabby tom with yellow eyes

Mousepelt- Pale gray she-cat with white paws and blue eyes

Apprentice: Ravenpaw

Okameclaw- Brown, ginger and red she-cat with black paws and green eyes

Nightstrike- Black tabby tom with with white paws and yellow eyes

Blueclaw- White tom with a tint of blue in tail and blue eyes

**Apprentices**

Mistpaw- White she-cat with green eyes

Ravenpaw- Black tabby tom with white paws and blue eyes

**Queens**

Okameclaw- Brown and ginger she-cat with black paws and green eyes

Kits: Berrykit, Tawnykit and Barkkit

Stonetalon- Gray tabby she-cat with white paws and blue eyes

Kits: Oakkit and Smallkit

**Elders**

Laurelheart- Red-brown she-cat with green eyes

Coldwind- Black-and-white tabby tom with yellow eyes

**WaterClan**

Leader: Lilacstar- Long haired white-and-gray she-cat with blue-purple eyes

Deputy: Spottedclaw- Golden tom with black spots and blue eyes

Apprentice: Joypaw

Medicine Cat: Mintheart- Calico she-cat with blue eyes

Apprentice: Littlepaw

**Warriors**

Junipertail- Black-and-white she-cat with blue-purple eyes

Apprentice: Purepaw

Hazelwhisker- Light brown tabby she-cat with yellow eyes

Apprentice: Whitepaw

Rainwhisper- Light brown tabby tom with white paws and green eyes

Owlclaw- Dark brown tabby tom with a white chest and yellow eyes

Hawkfeather- Dark brown she-cat with white paws and dark green eyes

Ravenheart- Black-and-white tom with green eyes

Snowfall- Long haired white she-cat with black paws and bright blue eyes

Apprentice: Coralpaw

**Apprentices**

Joypaw- White she-cat with teal eyes

Littlepaw- Calico she-cat with purple-blue eyes

Purepaw- Long haired white and brown she-cat with blue eyes

Whitepaw- Long haired white tabby tom with yellow eyes

Coralpaw- White she-cat with a tint of red and green eyes

**Queens**

Hazelwhisker- Light brown tabby she-cat with yellow eyes

Kits: Basilkit, Cedarkit and Fernkit

Snowfall- Long haired white she-cat with black paws and bright blue eyes

Kits: Foamkit, Seakit, Blizzardkit and Cottonkit

**Elders**

Orangenight- Orange and brown tom with blue eyes

**SkyClan**

Leader: Runningstar- Bright ginger tom with white paws and blue eyes

Deputy: Shiningpelt- Golden tabby tom with black paws and green eyes

Medicine Cat: Sparrowtail- Dark brown tom with a white chest and blue eyes

**Warriors**

Thorntail- Light brown tabby tom with darker paws and amber eyes

Apprentice: Stumppaw

Lightpelt- Light brown she-cat with white paws and blue eyes

Swiftwind- Gray she-cat with white paws and tail tip and green eyes

Apprentice: Forestpaw

Rubyfur- Red tabby tom with amber eyes

Apprentice: Cloverpaw

Sapphiretail- Long haired gray she-cat with a tint of blue and amber eyes

Emeraldeye- Black tabby tom with bright green eyes

Elkstep- Pale ginger she-cat with white paws and green eyes

Ratclaw- Long haired, dark gray tom with amber eyes

**Apprentices**

Stumppaw- Dark brown tom with blue eyes

Forestpaw- Long haired gray-and-brown she-cat with green eyes

Cloverpaw- Silver she-cat with dark green eyes

**Queens**

Lightpelt- Light brown she-cat with white paws and blue eyes

Kits: Galekit, Thornkit and Rosekit

Sapphiretail- Long haired gray she-cat with a tint of blue and amber eyes

Kits: Larchkit, Mountainkit and Coalkit

**Elders**

Strongclaw- Long haired black-and-white tabby tom with amber eyes


	2. Chapter 1

Light rain ran through the forest. It was mid new-leaf, the flowers were blooming and the herbs were growing tall.

A brown she-cat walked through the undergrowth. Her bright green eyes shifted side-to-side, looking for any movements. Her white paws stepped lightly on the leaf covered ground.

A smaller she-cat followed the bigger one. Her pelt was pale brown with gray spots and her eyes were bright blue.

"Brownclaw," the smaller she-cat said. "Where're we going?"

"We're checking out the EarthClan border," Brownclaw replied. "If EarthClan has been making trouble again, I'll have my say in the matter of it."

"What if we get attacked?"

"Don't worry, Sagepaw. I can handle some EarthClan warriors, you'll just have to run back to camp and tell the others to come fast."

They came to a clearing, where a small pool of water stood. Brownclaw smelled the air, expecting to find EarthClan scent. There was EarthClan, mouse, vole and marigold in the air, though it was all farther away from the border.

"No signs of EarthClan," she purred. "Guess they're not gonna try and attack again so soon."

"You still believe they'll attack again?" Sagepaw asked. "Like they did before?"

"It wouldn't surprise me. Ruststar isn't likely to give up so easily. He's just waiting for FireClan to drop it's defence."

"But we won't, will we?"

"No. Smallstar doesn't want another battle. She believes that EarthClan will try to take control of FireClan again, but she doesn't know when."

"And there's a gathering tonight."

"Yes. I've been told that you and Maplepaw are coming. You've both apprentices for only a half moon, but it's about time you got to meet other apprentices."

Sagepaw brightened up a bit. She was the younger of two kits, Maplepaw was her older brother. They were Willowtail and Rustheart's kits.

Her brother was a bit on the wild side and out of control, which was why he's mentor was his father. Sagepaw had always been calm and did what she was told.

"Come on," Brownclaw mewed. "We can hunt on the way back to camp."

* * *

As Brownclaw turned to go back to camp, the wind shifted, blowing towards them from the setting sun and carrying an odd scent. Brownclaw stood still, opened her jaws and took in the smell.

She'd smelled it before, but she couldn't remember where or when.

"Brownclaw?" Sagepaw asked. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure. Do you mind hunting by yourself today? I'm going to check something."

"Okay, see you back at camp!"

Sagepaw ran off back to camp. Brownclaw sniffed again and followed the scent trail through the forest, along the EarthClan border. The scent grew stronger, she was getting closer to whatever it was.

She entered into a clearing. The scent was very strong here, she must've been close. There was a russle in the ferns. A figure ran through the trees and stopped in the center of the clearing.

'Twoleg!' Brownclaw thought.

It was indeed a Twoleg, a male from the looks of it. Jet black hair, blue eyes and different colored cloth was drapped over him.

That's when Brownclaw remembered. Moons ago, when EarthClan had attacked FireClan, there'd been a black and white cat who came to help her save the Clan.


	3. Chapter 2

**I'm really sorry about the long wait on updates! MASSIVE writer's block kept messing me up, then I got busy with other things and other stories and such. But I'm getting the story going now. So, there'll be more updates coming soon!!**

* * *

Brownclaw stepped into the clearing and faced the Twoleg. The Twoleg noticed her at once and stared at her in amazment.

"Brownclaw?" it asked.

Brownclaw nodded. She knew who this was. His name was Danny, he'd helped her to save FireClan from EarthClan. Danny couldn't understand the cat language anymore, but Brownclaw could understand the human language.

"You havn't aged a day," Danny laughed. He sat on the ground and beckoned for Brownclaw to come forward. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you."

Brownclaw slowly walked to Danny, glancing around every now and then to make sure there wasn't anycat hiding in the bushes.

"Still dark brown." Danny lightly rubbed Brownclaw's ears. "I'd have thought you'd gone gray by this time."

"Danny, I'm not even fifteen moons old!" Brownclaw growled.

"Oh, not as old as you seem, huh? Then maybe you'd be willing to help me with something. You remember before, when I told you about my enemy Vlad, right?" Brownclaw nodded. "Good. He's up to no good again and I've got to stop him. But my ghost powers were paralyzed and I can't use them fully."

"I need you to become human," he continued. "After that I can equip you with ghost powers to help defeat Vlad. Are you willing to do it?"

Brownclaw thought for a short moment, then looked up at Danny and cocked her head to one side, to ask him something. Danny knew at once what she was asking.

"You'll go back to being a cat once I've injected the cure into you. But until then, you're human."

Brownclaw nodded. There was a sudden crash behind Danny. A tall Twoleg with sickly green skin, jet black hair and wearing odd clothing entered the clearing. His eyes were blood red, teeth sharp and brilliantly white.

"Daniel, playing with stray animals?" the Twoleg laughed. "That's not good for you." The man raised a hand and a sudden light began to glow around it.

"Brownclaw!" Danny exclaimed. He scooped the brown cat into his arms, stood up and ran into the forest. "He's after me while I'm powerless. I can get us to safety but I don't know how far I can get us."

In a flash of light, Danny changed to his ghostly form. Snow white hair, green eyes and a black-and-white jump suit. He jumped into the air and took off.

* * *

It was some time before they came to a Twoleg forest. Tall metal trees stood everywhere with Twoleg Monsters running between them. Danny landing in a small in closed clearing with grass.

"This is where I live," Danny sighed. He changed back to himself and toppled over on the ground. "Looks like my powers drained some of my energy."

Brownclaw stepped up to him and rubbed her head against his.

"Danny!"

Brownclaw looked up to see two other Twolegs jump over the fence. One was a she-Twoleg with jet black hair, dark eyes and dark clothing. The other was male with dark skin, dark eyes slightly colorful clothes and a sort of bag strapped to his back.

"You okay?" the Twoleg in black asked.

"Vlad tried to hunt me down again," Danny coughed. "He tried to kill Brownclaw-"

"Brownclaw?"

"This cat, her name is Brownclaw."

"She's cute."

"Don't try to pick her up. She's small but she's a fuzzy ball of fury if you try to pick her up. Tucker, help me up."

Tucker-the dark skinned Twoleg-helped Danny to his feet. After a short talk, Tucker helped Danny into the Twoleg nest while Sam-the Twoleg in black-brought Brownclaw inside.

* * *

It was warm inside the nest. An orange haired she-Twoleg entered from another entrance and glared at Danny.

"What happened to you?" she asked. She looked somewhat like Danny, perhaps they were litter mates.

"Vlad," Tucker explained. "Danny's been run down from flying all the way here from Deep Forest, don't bother him."

"Right, and what about this cat?"

"This is Brownclaw," Sam explained. "Danny's going to turn her into a human, then give her ghost powers."

"Why?"

"Vlad's gotten too tough for Danny to fight on his own."

"Right. And I assume 'Brownclaw' is a female?"

"Duh. Can you keep her in your room while the drug is working?"

"I guess."

They climbed what seemed to be metal cliffs, like the wooden ones back at the FireClan camp. Sam and the other girl entered into a small chamber, while Danny and Tucker entered another.

Sam placed Brownclaw on the soft, long nest with soft pillows. A moment later, Danny came in with some kind of needle. Brownclaw guessed it was whatever would turn her human.

"Brownclaw," Danny began. "Once I put this in you, you'll pass out and when you wake up you won't be yourself anymore. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Brownclaw nodded and sat up straight, ready to face whatever would happen. Danny lightly patted the brown cat on the head, then pulled a bit of Brownclaw's neck up and injected the liquid into her.

Danny took a step back. Brownclaw felt no different then she had just a second ago. Nothing had changed so far, anyway. She curled into a ball on the nest, tiredness suddenly over coming her. She felt Danny's hand lightly rub her ears, then she fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 3

"All right, so what exactly are you going to tell Mom and Dad when they find out what you did _this_ time?!"

"I won't have to do anything because they won't find out! C'mon, Jazz, it's not like I did something illegal!"

"You sure about that? What about in the Ghost Zone? Isn't it possibly illegal there?"

"I dunno...Oh, she's awake. Hey, Brownclaw, how're you feeling?"

Brownclaw blinked her eyes open to find Danny and the orange haired human standing above her. She sat up and looked over herself. She was dressed in a thin fur shirt and pants—wait, when'd she learn those words?!

She jumped off the bed and looked into the mirror on the wall. Danny had once told her about mirrors, they were like water, they reflected whatever they see. Looking back at her through the glass was a human girl, about the same age as Danny.

Her skin was dark brown, as well as her hair. Her eyes were still bright green as usual but she was without a doubt a human.

"Whoa..." she sighed. "This feels so different."

"You'll get used to it," Danny laughed.

"We'll need to get her some real clothes," the orange haired girl said.

"Oh, Brownclaw, this is Jazz, my sister—or my female littermate from an older litter."

"Um...Hi," Brownclaw said.

"Danny, I'll get her some clothes, you need to track down Vlad," Jazz said.

"I'm on it," Danny replied. "I'll be down in the basement. Brownclaw, don't worry, Jazz is on our side."

"You sure?" she asked.

"Positive. She's been keeping secret my identity about being half ghost for almost two years now."

"Okay."

"Oh. Jazz you still got that old name book?"

"Yeah, why?" Jazz asked.

"Well we can't be calling her Brownclaw. People will wonder where she's from and start asking questions."

"All right."

* * *

A few hours later Danny was still trying to track any ghost activity in the area. Either there hadn't been any or some sort of force field had been placed around the scanners to keep them from searching.

There was a knock at the door. He turned around to see Jazz walk in closely followed by Brownclaw. Danny felt his heart skip a beat. Brownclaw was dressed in a white blouse, blue jacket, black jeans and black shoes. Her hair had been combed out and pulled into a pony-tail.

"Wow," Danny finally said. "You look great!"

"And she picked out a name," Jazz smirked. "Her name among us is going to be Ashlie Brownclaw."

"Ashlie, huh?"

"I just looked through the first few pages and that was the one I liked," Ashlie replied.

"Anyway, haven't found any traces of Vlad."

"Has there been any ghost activity at all?" Jazz asked.

"None that I can find."

"What is this?" Ashlie asked. She pointed to the back of the basement.

The Ghost Zone Gate. It was turned off, a hallow metal tube. Usually it would have been the portal into the Ghost world, a floating endlessness where all the ghosts lived. Other portals were open there, connecting to all the portals.

Danny's parents had built it a few years ago, but it hadn't worked when they activated it. When they'd gone, Danny and stepped inside the empty shell and accidentally hit the button to turn the system on. That had been when Danny became half ghost, when he was fourteen.

"That is the Ghost Zone Gate," Danny said. "That is how we're going to turn you into a ghost."

"You're...gonna put me in there?"

"Trust me, you'll be fine. This is how I got changed. Here put this on over your clothes." Danny handed Ashlie a rubber suit like he had in his ghost form. "You'll need to have something flexible when you're a ghost."

Ashlie quickly slipped the suit over her close and zipped it shut in the front. It was just barely small enough for her small build.

"What now?" Ashlie asked.

"Walk into the tunnel, you'll find a large red button on the left side. Press it and be prepared for a shock."

She nodded and walked forward into the dark tunnel. Unfortunately in her human form, Ashlie lost her cat night vision. She had to trust her instincts and move along the wall until she found the button. She leaned forward to make sure it was red, then lightly pressed it.

A flash of light surrounded her. She held up her hands to protect her eyes. As she stood in the light, frozen to the core, she felt her blood boiling inside her. A sudden gust of wind shot out and slashed at her body. The jumpsuit was made for such things so it didn't rip.

Something slammed into her and sent her flying out of the tube. She rolled a few times but came up on her feet and hissed. She flexed her hands as if she were still a cat.

"Ashlie?" Danny asked. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she sighed. "What was that?"

"I don't know, I don't remember what it felt like during the transformation."

"Why not?"

"I got knocked out. Strange though, you didn't."

Ashlie looked over herself. Her jumpsuit had reversed colors. She ran over to the mirror on the wall. Her skin was deathly white and her eyes were a deep shade of purple.

"It worked?" she asked. "I'm a ghost?"

"Well, third ghost, third human, third cat," Jazz laughed.

* * *

**Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry I haven't updated this in like a year! I lost interest in it and just got back into it yesterday. Don't worry though, I'm determined to finish this by the end of January! Next chapter shall come SOON!  
**


	5. Chapter 4

"So what happens now?" Ashlie asked. "Do we go find Vlad and fight him for his territory?"

"Territory?" Jazz asked. "Vlad is trying to take over the world, we want him dead!"

"Oh..."

"Besides we can't do anything yet," Danny explained. "It took me a while to even be good enough with my powers to fight that box ghost guy. Right now we just need to help you learn your powers."

"Danny? Jazz? Where are you?" a woman's voice called from upstairs.

"Oh no, it's Mom!" Jazz gasped. "Uhh—quick, Danny! Go invisible and-"

"Jazz, I don't have any powers now, remember?"

"Oh, right. Okay, new plan! Ashlie, can you turn back to normal?"

"Human you mean?" Ashlie asked. "I can try..."

Of course, she didn't know how to do that. She thought about it for a second, then attempted to focus all her mental ability on changing form. In a short flash of light, the jumpsuit vanished, being replaced with her blue outfit. Her skin and eyes returned to dark brown and bright green.

"Oh here you are!" Ashlie turned around to find a tall woman walk down the stairs. She was very thin, with wide hips. She wore a blue jumpsuit (maybe it was a family fetish) and a pair of welding goggles. Her hair was cut short, and the same color as Jazz's hair. "Oh, I didn't know you had a friend over! Hi there, I'm Mrs. Fenton. Who are you?"

"This is Ashlie Brownclaw," Jazz replied quickly. "She's Tucker's second cousin twice removed. And you know how crowded their house is these days what with the new baby and all, so we offered for her to stay with us while she's visiting!"

"Oh! Well, I wish you had told me sooner. I would have gotten more groceries at the store if I had known!" She turned and started back up the stairs. "But all the same, you can all still help me with unloading the car!"

"Close one, Jazz," Danny whispered. "But what about when she calls Tucker's mom and asks what Ashlie likes to eat?"

"I hadn't thought that far ahead..." Jazz sighed.

"Who is Tucker?" Ashlie asked.

"He's one of my best friends. You might not remember him. He helped us get back inside when I collapsed."

"Oh, okay." Ashlie's memory came back to her. She remembered the boy now. "I know who you are talking about."

* * *

"So, Ashlie," Mrs. Fenton began. "How long are you staying for?"

"I'm not really sure," Ashlie replied in a small voice.

The family sat around the dark wood table. It was dinner time. Mr. Fenton had come back from a ghost hunt. He was a tall, broad shouldered man with jet black hair and a grin that seemed to never end. He wore a bright orange jumpsuit. Ashlie was fairly sure it was indeed a family fetish and wondered why Jazz never wore one.

"Are you going to be going to school while you're here?" Mr. Fenton asked.

"Uhh-" Ashlie gave a quick glance to Danny, hoping that he might jump in to help her explain.

"She's homeschooled," Danny quickly interrupted. "She might come to school to sit in on classes, but she's not gonna be learning anything."

"Homeschooled, huh?"

"Well it's nice to have you spending your time with us as well as Tucker," Mrs. Fenton said.

"Y-yes, thank you for having me... " Ashlie replied.

* * *

After dinner, Jazz and Ashlie set up a spare cot on the floor in Jazz's room. For the time Ashlie would be staying with the Fentons, she would be bunking with Jazz in her room. Her room was fairly simple, everything was in the color range of red.

"So, listen," Jazz began. "I'll keep your secrets safe. No one will know about anything."

"Thanks," Ashlie sighed. "I'm not sure how I'll get used to living as a human..."

"You will eventually."

"There aren't any mice or squirrels to hunt, is there?"

"No, not for hunting. You can't act like a cat anymore. Until Danny figures out how to turn you back to normal, you have to be human."

"Be human... Does Danny know how to reverse the process?"

"The human into cat, possibly. But ghost form, there isn't a cure."

"So, I'm going to carry the ghost powers with me until I die?"

"Probably."

Ashlie fell silent. She hadn't known about this. Sure, she would be able to protect her clan better with the ghost powers. But the fact that she might never be able to get rid of them was what saddened her. How would she be able to explain to her future mate that she was part ghost? Would she ever even _have _a future mate with her new found power? Would she ever be allowed another apprentice? Would Smallstar let her continue with Sagepaw's training?

Ashlie held back a sad mew. She had not thought about any of this when Danny asked her. Now she had to think long and hard. Would her Clan even accept her back as being a cat anymore?

* * *

**Sorry for everyone that has been waiting for updates. The past year has been a bad time for my family. Both of my dogs died within three months of each other, I nearly failed my entire semester of college and it threw me into a long state of depression. But I am planning to get back into a routine of updating. So please, just be patient. **


	6. Chapter 5

Early the next morning Danny and Ashlie left the house heading to Tucker's house. It was only a few blocks away, but to Ashlie it seemed like eternity. It was no wonder that most humans were dumb, they had to pay so much attention to how they walked they must not have had enough brain to think about anything. At least that's what she thought.

"Tucker can help with training you," Danny was saying. "It was because of him that I found a few of my own attacks."

"Do you really think we can take on Vlad? Even when I'm the only one with powers?" Ashlie asked.

"I do intend to gain my powers back. That's also part of why we're going to see Tucker. He's been trying to figure out a way to restore them."

Just up ahead, Tucker came from around the street corner. He glanced back in the direction he had come, before turning and running to Danny and Ashlie.

"I thought we were meeting at your house, Tuck," Danny said.

"No chance of that happening," Tucker replied. "I just had to sneak out through the window. Vlad is at my house!"

"What? He knows where I live, what is he playing at?"

"Not sure. But he might have been after me. He must know your powers aren't working."

"Could he... be trying to resurrect my dark side?"

"Your dark side?" Ashlie asked. "What do you mean?"

"Well, in this-" Danny cut himself off with a half-cough, half-choke sound. He seemed to stare into space. From her angle, Ashlie couldn't see his face.

"Danny?" Tucker began. He inched around and behind Danny to Ashlie's side, grabbing her hand. He leaned close to her face and in a hasty voice, whispered in her ear, "Get ready to transform."

"What?" Ashlie whispered back with a tiny hiss.

"Why Tucker, my old friend," Danny's voice came like the roll of thunder. There was a twang of bitterness that lingered on each word. "Have you been doing research into dispelling ghost powers?"

"What?" Tucker replied almost too quickly, his voice cracking slightly. "How would you have figured that?"

"Very simple. When you stepped out of the window, I took the liberty of examining your internet history. You should really do a better job of hiding that sort of thing. You never know what might be hidden." With a sharp snap, Danny's head swiveled around like an owl's head. He glared at Tucker with blood red eyes. "I think we need to have a little chat."

"Ashlie, now!" Tucker squeezed her hand tightly.

"I-I can't, I don't remember how!"

"Well remember it quick!"

"So, I can tell young Daniel's powers are still out of commission," Danny continued. The rest of his body turned around now, creating several loud cracks from his neck as the bones snapped back into place. "But I sense power from this fine young lady. Not as pure as Daniel's, but still it is there. Did he attempt to replicate his accident?"

"Why would we tell you?" Tucker growled.

"Because if you don't, I will kill Daniel where he stands!" Danny's right hand shot up to his own throat, his nails ready to dig into his flesh.

"No! Don't hurt him!" Ashlie gasped. "I'll tell you what happened-"

"Ashlie, you can't!" Tucker exclaimed. "We won't have the upper hand anymore if you tell him!"

"I don't care, Danny's life is more important than the plan. Just like a warrior's life is most important to a clan." Ashlie's heart wailed out for her forests, her clan mates, her special tom... It would all be lost if Danny were to die. She would be trapped as a two-leg for the rest of her life. She looked Danny square in the eye, her chest puffed out, her stance ready to fight. "I take it that you're actually Vlad, controlling Danny while he has no power."

"What a clever girl!" Danny laughed. "You don't look it, but you've got a good head on your shoulders. Go on."

"Since you disabled Danny's powers, he needed someone else to help him fight you. But he couldn't put Tucker or Sam at risk. So he came to me, asking for my help. I agreed to help him fight you. He transformed me into a two-leg, then zapped me with the-"

"A two-leg?"

"That's what felines call humans. Because you walk on two legs rather than all four."

"Then, am I correct into assuming that you are that cat I saw him escaping with from the forest?"

"Yes. In the forests, I am known as Brownclaw. But I had to take a human name while I lived among them, so I adopted Ashlie as my temporary name."

"This...is simply priceless!" Danny released his hold and let his arm fall at his side. "He thought he could outsmart me with another half-ghost kid, but you don't even know how to activate the powers! This... I will not stand for it."

A black cloud appeared around Danny, floating away slightly. As the last of the smog left Danny's body, he began to collapse. Tucker jumped into action, holding his friend upright while his brain came back to life. The cloud materialized into the green-skinned, red eyed man Ashlie had seen before in the forest. He must have stood several fox-tails taller than she did.

"What happened?" Danny coughed.

"Vlad took control of you, but..."

"Oh don't worry, Daniel, I'm not here for you today," Vlad sighed. He held a deep British accent in his voice. "Not when it will hurt you more to have your helper taken from you."

"What?" Danny shot straight up and glared at Vlad, his blue eyes full of rage. "Vlad, if you harm her, I will-"

"Oh please, what can you do without your powers?" Vlad stepped forward and grabbed Ashlie around the shoulders, dragging her close to his chest. "Besides, it wouldn't be any fun if you weren't there to watch."

Vlad's grip was so tight around her that she couldn't escape. The ghost man began to levitate, pulling Ashlie up with him.

"Farewell, my boy," Vlad laughed. "You know where to find me if you change your mind."

"No, wait!" Danny pushed Tucker away, took a few stumbling steps towards them, then fell to his knees.

A strange sensation take over Ashlie, as if her body was slowly being pulled apart. The world around her was beginning to blur. Her head felt like it were a bird's egg, cracking open as it fell from a tall branch. One voice rang out just as the world went dark. Danny's voice.

"Brownclaw!"

* * *

**Sorry for the super annoying long update wait. There is really no excuse for not updating in over a year, so I'll be honest with you. I lost interest in this story for a while and was about ready to just give up on it and take it down. But I needed a kick in the head to get me interested in it again. Hopefully I'll be finishing it soon.**


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